Grain door for freight cars



June 28, 1927. 1,634,015

N. E. BRAY GRAI-N DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS -June 28 1927.

1,634,015 N. .E. BRAY GRAIN DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS Filed Ju1y14, 192e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 5u ucrnfot N E. Er a5v tion, i pro Patented June 2.8, 1927,

UN'EEI) STATES- NORRIS E. BRAY, OF KIMBALL, SOUTH.' DAKOTA.

-GRAIN DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS.

Application filed July 14, 1926. Seri-a1 No. 122,432.

yliis invention is a grain door 'tor freight cars, the object being to provide a closure which, when iny use, will completely cover the door opening so as to prevent the escape of grain and, when not in use, will he stored within the root of the car out ot the way so 'as to leave the entire interior tree for the placement ot other freight. @ther objects oi' the invention are to provide means for etiectually restraining the door members against movement whenthey are stored in the roof of the car, and to provide a construction of door section which will prevent binding oi the door sections at the door lopening when in use and counteract any tendency ot the door sections to warp. These stated objects, and other objects which will incidentally appear in the course of the ollowing description, are attained in such vastr ucture as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the invent-ion resides in certain novel tentures which will loe particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Y f Figure 1 is a transverse section of a car body showing my improved door in closed position at one side and in open stored position at the other side;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal oi Fig. l; y Fig. 3 is an enl rged detail perspective view ot oneend ot' a. door section;

Fig. l is an enlarged detailperspective view of a step; j Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail perspective view ot a stop hracket 'tor retaining the door sections in the stored position.

The car body l'may he of anyapproved form and is illustrated in a conventional manner only, the numeral 2l indicating the Vusualr outside doors which are mounted' Vfor sliding movement upon the sides of the car Vto he supported at the side of the door openor extend over rthe saine in the usual manner. lin carrying out the present inven. vide transverse girders 3 at the roof-z oi the car and substantially alinedV with the sides of the door openings therein, and ujonthe medial longitudinal line of the car a vertical partition .said'girdersr The door posts 5 are raloheted upon vtheiredges and to the inner sides fot the' posts are secured track irons 6 which project somewhat beyond the inner sides of the raoheted portions of the door posts so as to coact with the door posts to vdefine section on the line et entends between 'the grooves in which the door sections may he received. The track irons are vcurved inwardly at the upper ends 'of the door'openings, as shown at 7, and are then continued inwardly along the lower edges of the girders 3, as shown at 8, to points immediately adjacent the lower edge or" the partition where they are curved upwardly, as shown at 9, the inner extremities of the track irons heing extended vertically and secured to the opposite sides ofthe partition, as shown at l0. YItv should he noted, however, that the partition et may he omitted and vthe upturned terminals of the track irons secured to the adjacent girder 3. Upon the upper sides of vthe horizontal portions 8 ot the track irons are spaced stops or lugs 11 which have convex upper surfaces vand the purpose ot which will presently appear. The grain door comprises v a plurality of sections 1Q which are ot rectangular form and oiE such length that, when in use, they will extend' entirely across the door opening with their ends resting between the track irons and the vertical shoulder on the door posts. .The sections may all he of the same vertical dimension hut I prefer to make them in graduated heights to facilitate their storage helow the roof of the car, it being noted that'the car lines diverge downwardly troni the center toward the sides oil the car, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the spacehetween the portions 8 of the tracks'and the roof ot the car is Vgradually contracted toward the sides of the car;`r The lowermost section `l2 has its lower edge in one plane and the upper edge' of the uppermost section is also in one plane. The'rernaining edges of all they sections are rahheted so as to present a square shoulder or step form, as shown at' 13, the rahhet or recess being atthe inner side along the top edge otfa section and at the outer side alongl the lower edge of the section.:v This formation, as shown clearly in Fig.V l, provides a square support fort-he several sections when they arein use so' that. they cannot wedge or hind between the door posts and the track while at the same time'they torni a completely closed joint to prevent leakage of the grain; In eachend or' 'each section is inserted a sheet metal plate 14 'which will counteract any tendency otl the sections to warp so that they will always he in condition tojente'r easily between the track irons and the shoulders of the door posts. These plates lit have their end por- *Y ,l

tions 1110 extended over the vertical faces ot the rabbets in the door sections, as shown in Fig. 3, and carried over the edges otl the section and the sides oit the saine. The terminals ci the plates scat tlush in the edges and sides of the door sect-ions but necessaiily project slightly from the vertical faces ot the rabbets, the projections, however, being in'iinaterial in respect to the lit ot the door or the grain-tight quality ot the joint. The plates protect the corner ot the sections which might, otherwise, be brolren ott under hard usage. In the outer. tace ot each section, adjacent the ends thereof, are recesses or grooves 15 which constitute linger holds to facilitate the raising ot the door sections when the contents otl the car are to be removed.

The stops 11 are so spaced that the lower edge ot a door section may be received between each two stops, and correspondingly spaced brackets 16 are secured upon the sides of the girders 3 immediately below the car root` to accommodate the upper edges ot the door sections so that the said sections will be firmly supported and held when they are not in use. I also provide dogs 17 which are pivoted upon the sides oit the Igirders 8 adjacent the upper portions of the track irons and immediately over the curved portions T oi the same. These dogs 17 are provided in their lower edges with shoulders 1S adapted to engage behind the outer edges oit the door sections resting upon the horizontal portions 8 ot the tracks, and the lower outer ends otl the dogs are beveled or curved, as indicated at 19, so that, when a section is pushed against a dog` the dog will be moved upwardly and permit the section to ride under the same, the dog automatically dropping` to engage the outer edge .of the secion when it is cleared by the section.` as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 1. Above and inwardly trom the dogs 17 are gravity stops or latches 2O which are somewhat elongated plates or thin ba rs provided with obliquely disposed slots Q1 through which supporting pins 22 are inserted to slidably secure the latches to the girdcrs. lVhen the door sections are in place, the innerend ot the respectively adjacent latch 2O will bear against the outer side ot the outermost door section so as to aid in holding the same in place, and it will be noted that the inner end ot each latch is beveled, as at 23, to facilitate the upward movement of a door section past the latch while the inclined arrangement oi'. the slots 21 will vpermit the weight ot the latches to cause them to slide toward the door sections and operati'X'fely-engage the same.

Fitted in the side 24 ot the car body is a step which consists of a bar or rod bent into U shape, as shown at 25, and having the legs et' the U fitted through inclined slots or openings 2G formed through the side of the car. lifear strips 2T are secured to the inner and outer faces ot the car wall 24 adjacent Athe ends ot the openings QG to receive the wear ot the step and thereby prevent splintering or chipping ot the wood employed in the building of the car wall. It will also be noted that the terminals ot the step are turned upwardly, as indicated at 2S, to constitute stops engageable with the outer wear plate 27 and thereby limit the extent ot 'inward movement which may be imparted to the step. lVhen the grain door is to be stored in the root ot the car, the step is pulled upwardly so as to assume the position shown in Fig Al, and the operator may then stand upon the step while pushing the several door sections into the storage space. To provide further support for the operator, a hand-hold or grip 29 is secured to the side beam 30 of the car immediately adjacent the door opening so that the operatormay obtain a grip with one hand upon the said hand-hold 29 while leaving' his other hand tree to manipulate the door sections.

As shown and as belore stated, when the door opening is to be closed, the several door sections are brought into supciposed relation between the tracks and the door posts so as to extend across the door opening. The door opening at one sid-e ot the car may be completely closed betere the filling ot the car with grain is started and at thel other side sections may be placed in position successively as the height ot the grain within the car increases so that by the time the car has been completely filled the door openings at both sides will be closed. lVhen moving the door sections into position across the door opening. the operator may be provided with a hook rod or other convenient tool which may be engaged against the outercnd ot the corlesponding -dog 17 so as to litt the dog and permit the sections engaged thereby to be moved outwardly and downwardly. As additional sections are required, the hoolr rod may be engaged about the lower edgeot thev successive sections so that a pull thereon will move the lower edges ot the sections over the stops 11 and tree the sections trom the latches 20. These sections may then be successively pulled outwardly over the tracks and dropped into place upon the previously arranged sections.V lll/'hen the car is tobe opened so that the grain may be removed, a lifting torce applied to the lowermost sections and against the upper edges ot the recesses 15 will effect upward movement of all Y the sect-ions, and any convenient chock may be placed under the raised sections so that the grain may be permitted to flow through the opening thus established at the lower end ot the door. Then the car is emptied and is to be returned to its starting point, or other freight is to be placed therein, the operator,

il il by applying a stick or other convenient implement to the several sections successively, may push them onto the upper portions of the track and as the uppermost section reaches the curved portion 9, it will be deflected upwardly into a nearly vertical position so that its upper edge will engage behind the brackets 16. and its lower edge wil engage behind the innermost stops 11. Each succeeding sec-tion will be likewise turned upwardly by having its inner edge ride against the lower edge of the previously stored section and the last sect-ions may be permitted -to remain upon the horizontalV as shown in Fig. l, and

portion of the tracks, held against release by the dogs 17. In order to move the several sections to the inner limit of the space, the operator will pull the step 25 upwardly and inwardly so that he may stand thereon and be in a position to push the sections to the inner end of the available space under the car roof. l/Vhen all the sections have been stored, as indicated in Fig. l, the operator merely moves oflthe step 25 and the weight of the step, coaetiiig with the arring of the Same due to the travel of the car, will cause the step to move downwardly in Vthe openings 26 so that the shoulder' portion of the step may sea-t in a groove 3l provided therefor in the side of thc car wall and thus be out of the way of grain or other freight which may be placed in the car.

From the lforegoing descriptioinftaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided an eX- ceedingly simple and efiicient grain door for the door openings of freight cars which, when in use, will provide a complete closure for tie door opening and when not in use will be disposed in very compact form with- .in the roof of the car so as to leave the interior of the car entirely free of obstructions.

Y Having thus described the invention, I

claim:

l. rEhe combination with a freight car including transverse girders disposed at the 'foot of the car and extending between the sides of the opposite door openings, door sections adapted to entend across the respective door openings in su eerpoed relation and to move into a position between the girders, elements at the lower edges of the girders to defi-ect the door sections moving thereover into approximately upright positions, and means on the girders to engage the sections and retain them in such approximately up? iight positions.

The combination with a freight cai', Oi'

transverse girders at the roof of the car and at the sides of the door opening in the car, a. plurality of door sections movable to extend across the door opening or to positions between the girders, means for deflecting the sections into approximately upright positions between the girders, brackets on the girders to engage behind the outer faces of the several sections, and means mounted on the 'girders to restrain the sections against outward movement.

3. The combination with a freight car, of girders at the roof of thecar and atI the'sides of the .door opening therein, a plurality of door sections movable to extend across the door opening or to positions between th-e girders, means on the girders for turning the door sections into approximately upright positionsJ between the girders, means for supporting the door sections in the upright positions, and latches slidably mounted on 'the sides of the girders to engage the outermost door sections and restrain them against outward movement.

4i. In a freight car, the combination of transverse girders at the roof of the car and at the sides of the door opening, a plurality of door sections movable to extend across vthe opening or to extend between the girders,

supports on the girders for the door sections, means to turn some of the door sections into approximately upright position between the girders, a gravitating latch slidably mounted on the girders to engage the outer upright sections and retain them against outward movement, and dogs pivoted on the girders to engage against the outermost sections and restrain them against outward movement.

5. In a freight car, the combination of transverse girders at the roof of the car. and at the vsides of tlie door opening, a plurality of door-sections movable to extend across the opening or to entend between the girders, supports on the girders forthe dooi sections, stop lugs at the lower edges of the girders to engage the lower ends of some ofthe door sections and 'retain them against outward movement, stop brackets onV the girders in' the upper portions thereof to engage the upper edge portionsv of the door sections, graviiating latchesinounted on the sides/of the girders to engage against the outermostupright door sections, and dogs pivotally mounted on'the girders outwardly 'belowA and beyond the latches` to engage the outermost door sections wherebyto retain all the sections against outward movement.

In testimony whereof I aiiii: my signature.

lisomers n; BRAY. [ses] CFI losr 

